Thoughts ricocheted off of every corner of Tails's skull. Despite the echoes, though, there wasn't very much variety. The longer they lasted the more bored he became. He wasn't dreaming even though he thought he was asleep, instead his brain thundered along with only a few starbursts of sensation to break the monotony. There were just a few words, really – in fact, just one that mattered. Coward.
The resentment that had simmered among the refugees hadn't been targeted at Tails alone. No, Sonic had borne the brunt of it. In fact, the hedgehog had done his best to shield his brother from as much of the anger as he could, the way he always did. And Tails had been too afraid to even tell him why. The fox didn't doubt he'd be crying if he could feel his body, regardless of what Sonic might think of that. His fear had been his own mistake, but it had been everyone around him that suffered for it. And it wasn't even the first time, was it? No, his lack of foresight had cost Cosmo just as dearly.
It wasn't foresight though, or at least not only. In an incandescent moment he understood what Knuckles had meant all along. He always got so embedded in the first rut he came across that when it finally let him down anyway he couldn't think of any other way things could be. He hadn't looked for other options two months ago, hadn't dared to tell Sonic the truth yesterday, hadn't even taken responsibility for his mistakes just now. No wonder he had driven Knuckles away.
The moment had been incandescent inside his head, true, but he realized things were just as bright beyond his eyelids. So he was awake, that was probably good. No, it is good. Bad fox! Drowsily he opened his eyes the rest of the way, feeling a taut mattress pad beneath his tails and a crisp sheet spread above him. Yet again his shoes and gloves were missing, and the light was so scorching he had to close his eyes again immediately. Ironically enough it nearly put him back to sleep, but he was ready to be done with his thoughts. And he had so many things to say to Sonic, too.
He slammed his head sideways and opened his eyes away from the light, twisting up on his side to relieve his neck. The mattress pushed the gouge in his ear wide open and Tails unashamedly yowled.
"Sonic, he's up," rang a voice that filled even the half-awake fox with dread. "So-nic?"
Tails muttered incoherently at his mattress, wishing for a pillow or quilt to bury his head in. He'd have to ask Sonic how they ended up here, wherever here was, and even more urgently how Amy Rose had wound up there with them. That would probably have to wait, though, since his brother wouldn't willingly come within a kilometer of the girl when she got into one of her moods.
And, armed with that knowledge, Tails nearly fainted again when he heard Sonic's voice answer. It was too distant to make out but clearly still inside the building, which ought to be impossible given Amy's flirtatious tone. The illogical situation was at least an easier headache to deal with than the one his ear was giving him, though, and the young fox rolled upright – and promptly smacked his other ear on the low ceiling. He'd never had a bunk bed before and now he realized what a good decision that had been. The roof seemed to pull itself closer to him, bulging and bowing and flowing to put pressure directly on his eyes, and Tails whipped back around and dug into his mattress. He'd never been claustrophobic before and he'd been in much tighter spaces than this, so what was wrong with him?
Cautiously he began to roll back upright again, conscious to keep both ears level, and this time he was ready for the rush of vertigo. It wasn't so bad, all things considered, not now that he knew what to expect. Maybe it was the result of knowing he was up high and yet still trapped below too, something that ran completely counter to his usual flyer's instincts. That sounded plausible, and it wasn't all that important right now anyway. Still, tomorrow night he'd be perfectly happy to take the lower bunk. Or the floor.
After a moment's contemplation he hopped off the bed, reveling in the moment of acceleration before cushioning his fall with his tails. Unfortunately, he had once again forgotten his abrasions and this time his reaction went past a yowl to a plaintive keen.
Sonic came running, as if he ever traveled any other way, but even at his speeds Tails had already gotten his injuries off the thin grey carpet and flopped up onto the lower bunk. "You hit your head, big guy?" His eyes flicked to Tails's ear. "And seriously, hasn't that thing healed yet? I thought the doc had patched you up."
Tails shrugged. The pain was receding rapidly, it was really the surprise that made it so bad. "Don't know. I mean, the glass damage was gone by the time I woke up, so I don't…uh, oops." He stumbled off into desperate mumbling as Sonic caught what he had just said.
"Glass? What happened, Tails?" There would normally be a laugh in Sonic's voice when he asked that kind of question. Right now, though, he sounded entirely serious and Tails didn't even consider not answering this time.
Instead he kicked his heels against the wood plank at the bottom of the bunk. For a moment he let the unusual texture of the waxed wood seep into his bare feet, but then he came back to the moment. "Well, when the Blue Typhoon started to crash I had to get to the controls fast – it was the Master Emerald, I mean, and I was down in the shrine and I'm not really making any sense, am I?" he trailed off helplessly.
Sonic just looked at him. "Go on."
"What else is there? I, um, flew through the window between me and the console and told Cream to hit the emergency shutdown. We really need to make that easier when we get back to the ship." Sonic was still giving him that level, appraising stare and Tails shrugged broadly. "What?"
"You flew," Sonic repeated, "through a window." Tails swallowed hard before nodding. "You flew through a window." He covered his eyes. "Don't tell me it was the one with the wire strung through it too." Tails didn't even have to nod this time. "Tails, what am I going to do with you?"
"Hey, I had to get there fast as I could, okay?" Considering how much effort he had put into avoiding Sonic's question yesterday he was probably being way too defensive, but now that he was talking he felt compelled to explain himself. "That meant taking the most direct route."
"Did it? I mean, did you really need to get there so fast you couldn't take a safer way? Come on, bro, you aren't me."
This time Tails couldn't resist. "You know, Knuckles said the same thing to me right before he left."
"Did he?" Sonic gave an approving half-nod. "Guess he cares more than I thought then."
It seemed like the ice was finally thick enough. "I think…I think his whole problem goes back to what we did to Cosmo. What I did."
The hedgehog chuckled mirthlessly. "Tails, everyone's got problems from that." He met Tails's eyes for just a second, then his expression brightened. "Come on, we shouldn't be talking about this kind of thing. Not before breakfast anyway. We can go out for a run later and work it out. If you're up for it, I mean."
That wasn't such a bad idea. Tails rocked off the bed for real this time, waving aside Sonic's offered hand. "I can walk, don't worry. It was just my tails again." No sooner had he said that than he staggered, nearly twisting his right ankle, and this time he had nothing but gratitude for his brother's intervention. "Actually, I'm feeling pretty tired still," he admitted with a sheepish grin. It was weird, but now that the pain had faded and he had gotten off the bed he really didn't feel like he had slept at all. Considering it had been two particularly stressful days since his last bed, that wasn't a good sign. "How long was I out?" The grin was back off Sonic's face.
"It's been, what, a day and a half? Man, and you're cold, too. When I see Vector again I'm going to –"
Tails waved his hands frantically – well, at least limply. "He stepped in to save me, Sonic. I think the other guys would have mobbed me if Vector didn't take control. Espio and Vanilla were really on top of it too – and how did Amy and I wind up here, wherever here is?" And what had Sonic meant by "cold?" He felt fine!
And now the grin was safely back. Sonic must have been really tired himself to slide between moods so easily. "I keep telling you to switch off your brain every now and then. How about I let her fill you in over breakfast while I take a look around?"
"Works for me." Breakfast – he'd been going for at least five days on a few pots of mint tea. No wonder he was so tired! With a smile of his own he followed Sonic down a greying hall, stumbling every so often as his feet skidded on the sudden hardwood floor. Maybe going barefoot was something he needed to practice, but then again he was already feeling preemptively embarrassed for his meeting with Amy, so he could go without it just fine and - he shook his head wryly. Sonic was right, he really did think too much sometimes, and even for him it could get tiring after a while.
"That was amazing. Thanks," Tails said as he licked heavy cream from his whiskers. Amy's cooking had come a long way since he first met her, between the efforts of the Thorndyke's maid Ella and more recently Cream and her family. Even if he had burned his tongue on the first bite, the smell and the texture of the cream were more than enough to fill his mouth with flavor. He had no idea how she had found the time or ingredients for what, if he guessed correctly, was some kind of crepe in this seemingly abandoned town. Or, for that matter, how she had paid for them – of course, Sonic did tend to get discounts. All the same, Tails suddenly felt uneasy. "Um, where'd you get it, if you don't mind my asking?"
"Oh, that." Amy leaned against the peeling wallpaper nonchalantly. "There was plenty to spare in the pantry and the refrigerator.
Tails might not have felt cold when Sonic mentioned it earlier, but he was shivering now. "And the people who own this place – you asked them, right?"
"I'd like to know that too." Tails's chair skittered across the linoleum as the strange voice sounded. There was a wolf behind them, carrying a rectangular prism on a stick that Tails could only assume was his gun. He was dressed in a green-on-green uniform that looked identical to the ones back in Shamar, give or take the ridiculous cylindrical hat and the inch-thick layer of ash on its brim, and he looked even less friendly – or forgiving – than the refugees back at the crash. "Captain Pietro, Soleanna Defense League. So it is you after all. Constantine said you'd be coming." he made a musical chuckle that Tails wished he was in a position to enjoy, "Sadly, you're also trespassers and looters in a warzone. And therefore under arrest."
Sonic, who had ducked back into the hallway just before the captain's arrival, rolled under Tails's arm and popped up in a wide stance. Tails spoke up before Sonic had the chance. "Constantine? If you mean the doctor you'll understand why we landed. I've had these fainting spells lately, and Sonic had to get me to shelter."
"Imagine that." There wasn't even a hint of sympathy in the wolf's liquid voice. "Because he mentioned that you were a little battered but otherwise just fine."
That got a rise out of Sonic. "Hey, back off! He said it was my idea; now leave Tails alone."
"Tails?" Amy picked probably the worst possible time to get indignant. "What about me, Sonic?"
"Her too." Sonic hadn't even looked at her. "Look, we both know I could flatten you right now, but I'm not that kind of guy. So I'll go along peacefully as long as you don't hold it against them."
"So, your friends break the law and then hide behind you afterwards? Some heroes." Pietro's mouth twisted into a snarl and Tails felt his heart shrivel at the words. The feeling only got worse as the soldier blocked Sonic's enraged kick on a paneled arm.
Sonic was practically spitting himself. "I told you it was my idea. I also told you to leave him alone. I guess you just didn't hear me!" He twisted to kick at the captain's ear, but instead pirouetted away and rocketed back in his signature spindash. Even with such limited room to accelerate, the attack was much too powerful for the wolf to ward off this time, and the big blocky gun discharged a purple bolt as it hit the wall. "Better now?"
Pietro lurched to his feet, settling into a wary crouch. "Resisting arrest, assaulting an officer – you realize the courts'll tear you all apart for this?"
Something about his tone set off an alarm in Tails's head. "Sonic, back off. I don't want him to take this out on the others."
The captain staggered backwards. "You think – you honestly think – I wouldn't dare!" He took a few deep breaths and regained his composure. Mercifully, Sonic didn't take the opportunity to attack him. Neither did Amy, as Tails suddenly noticed that she was holding her hammer idly behind her back. "I suppose.…" The wolf growled, but it was pensive instead of hostile now. "I suppose this has been a bad start for all of us. If you're willing to come to an arrangement I'm sure we can let you work off your debt without getting the law involved." It sounded like it caused him physical pain to say that.
"Why the sudden change? Afraid Sonic's going to chase you off?"
"Amy!" Tails scrubbed at his eyes. It was too early for this sort of thing. "Sorry about this, Captain," he said with a tired smile. "We've all had a rough few days and we're not thinking straight. Amy!" he blurted out again as the girl puffed up indignantly, and aside from a menacing wave of her hammer she decided not to dig their hole any deeper. "I'm sure we can help you out somehow. Heh, we'd probably have done it even if we hadn't messed up out here." He tried to widen the smile but didn't really feel it. It was up to Captain Pietro now.
"Hear that, hedgehog? Your fox wants to come with me. There's –" Tails could probably have told him that was the wrong thing to say, but he would have been lying if he said it wasn't satisfying to watch Pietro sail across the room as Sonic caromed into his jaw.
The fox scampered over to the downed soldier while Sonic uncurled. "My brother. Not 'my fox.' Huge difference."
Tails sighed as he found a pulse. He didn't know what he'd have done if he hadn't – probably melted down on the spot. "He's fine. He'll have a worse headache than mine when he wakes up, though. Amy, you got anything we can leave with him? Medicine or something?"
She chewed her lip for a moment. "Well, there's a couple of icepacks in the freezer. No medicine though. Sonic asked me to check."
"Amy…." This time Sonic reined her in and left Tails wondering why. "Okay, yeah, I hoped there would be something left over for you, big guy. Your fainting spells pick the worst times, you know? And whatever that doctor said, I don't believe him." His expression curdled. "Especially not now. All that talk about 'privacy' – hah."
"He did say we could check back in a week or so once he got the right tools," Tails reminded him. "Just bad timing on my part, I guess. And I mean, he said he lived here, so I guess it makes sense he'd be reporting things like that." Okay, he had said Spagonia, not Soleanna, but Sonic probably didn't care enough about the difference to challenge it.
He did seem to be considering it, though, but eventually his smile came back. "Well, slap some ice on him, find Tails's stuff, and let's get going, Amy." She casually splintered the gun beneath her hammer first, releasing a faintly visible cloud of something the fox would rather not breathe.
Where they'd be going, Tails had no idea. It wasn't like they had a better option than to run right now though –half of Soleanna would be out for blood once Pietro woke up. He shook his head, hoping Sonic hadn't seen. It wasn't fair to the other group, was it? They'd finally gotten rid of him and he managed to make their lives even harder anyway. Well, the Chaotix could look after themselves. No, you'd better not think that. Don't give them the choice. At least Vanilla and Cream should be fine, though, and they'd see everyone else through safely. The thoughts helped Tails relax as he headed for the door.
"This was your idea," Tails reminded Sonic as the monorail whirred towards the city. His big brother gave him a mock-offended look but conceded the point. The fox hadn't really meant it and Sonic could clearly tell. Right now they could all do with a slightly lighter mood.
"I still say you should've let me at them, Tails." Amy was seething over in her corner and her hands flexed in their cuffs, clearly longing for the haft of her hammer. "With Sonic there we'd be halfway across the world by now." Assuming they could have gotten past the fifteen soldiers covering the front door first...
"And what would that have done, Amy?" Tails's abrasions were itching again as they pressed against the cold metal wall, and he could feel his attitude spiraling downward as one annoyance piled on top of another. "I wanted to get a word in with their government anyway now that I know what's going on. I figure this just hurries it up." Never mind the half-dozen troopers Sonic had laid out flat before Tails convinced him to stop. "Plus, they're supposed to be on our side."
"Which is why they almost shot you down." Sonic seemed genuinely offended by that part and Tails had no idea why. "Seriously, they might not like Downunda but that doesn't make them nice." Tails refrained from pointing out that Sonic had tried to take them down when he saw the flag on their helicopter. It wouldn't do any good at this point.
After a quiet moment Amy spoke up again. "I guess I should have waited on those pastries this morning." The fire had completely gone out of her and Tails would have offered her a friendly pat if he could move his limbs.
"No, it's not that, Amy. I'm sure the captain would have come up with something else if you hadn't." Tails knew he was being unfair, but Amy didn't need fairness right now. Then again, she had probably been the closest of his friends to her own self over the last two months, and the fox was stricken with a sudden attack of curiosity. "I'm sorry if it's a sore spot, but how did you...cope? With the whole...Cosmo thing, I mean?" Tails blushed through his fur before the words were even out of his mouth.
Amy, curiously, didn't seem to mind. "It hurt, Tails. Of course it did – she was our friend too. But I didn't go looking for people to blame the way Knucklehead did." Or the way I did. "I mean, you and Sonic and Shadow did your best and there wasn't anything the rest of us could do. So I didn't worry over it too much. I still miss her, but I don't have to think about how we lost her. There're a lot of happier thoughts – like that time you two ran into the love trap I set for Sonic. That was so –"
Sonic swung around as best he could to glower at her mock-threateningly, and she swooned more melodramatically than Tails had thought possible in response. He'd better start looking for ways to get them out of here if they needed it These people had left him his screwdriver too, but there wasn't any point in using it just now. After all, this monorail was going to take them into the main part of the city somewhere; unless Amy and Sonic tore one another apart first they might as well take advantage of that.
That was, of course, the floor's cue to come up and slap him in the face.
"What's going on?" Amy demanded as she dug her quills out of the bench. "What was that?"
"Something hit us." Tails's voice didn't waver, although his vision certainly did. "Here, Amy, give me your wrists. I'll get those cuffs off and we can –"
Daylight, such as it was behind the curtain of ash, filtered into the cabin. "You three! We're taking fire from a landside patrol. We'll take those off if you'll help us out." The young ground squirrel was in a rail conductor's outfit, not one of the military uniforms, and she was so plaintive Tails felt compelled to help her. "The officer in charge gave me your keys – figured you wouldn't look for them on me if you got out, he said. It doesn't matter anyway, we need you out there right now!" She fished around in her vest for a minute before coming up with a small ring of downright tiny keys. Tails's and Amy's bindings clattered off in short order, but for some reason the young woman stopped as she got to Sonic. "What?"
The hedgehog shook his head. "Nothing. Just thinking, that's all."
"A novel experience," Tails proclaimed, and all four of them shared a glorious tension-relieving laugh as the squirrel finished her task. "Ready to go?"
"I'll stay behind and take care of the other passengers. Have fun out there!" She vanished back through the dangling door as suddenly as she had arrived.
"I figure it'll be easier if we catch them by surprise," Sonic said. "Amy, you want to make us a door?" Her snarl would have done any cat proud.
Tails braced himself, waiting on a fresh flood of light to start his attack, and just for a moment he started brooding again. The last time he'd fought a professional, living enemy he'd nearly torn the poor man apart, and Sonic had done quite a number on the locals that morning too. He didn't want to hurt anyone if he didn't have to, but sometimes he had to and since he had obligations tugging him in every direction this was probably one of those times. Then Amy's swing tore a ragged hole in what had once been the roof and all three of them sprang out into the chatter of gunfire, and Tails no longer had any time for his own worries.
Author's Note: I'm experimenting with the cliffhanger here, in the desperate hope that it'll get me back to writing more quickly and keep me focused after that. Rest assured, the war really is going to hit everyone squarely between the eyes in the next couple of chapters. And there are a few other plot threads inching towards resolution now too - I think I've planted all of the seeds for them at long last. Also, I'm sorry for the little end-of-chapter motive rant out of Amy but she's the character I have the weakest grasp on and I felt a pressing need to flesh her out fast so she'd be more than "Clingy Jealous Girl with giant hammer and bizarre mood swings." Hopefully it worked, but that was a last-second addition. Later than last, in fact; I only edited it in at 2:45 the day after I posted the original draft.
As a side note, Captain Pietro is a rather obscure member of the Sonic cast himself. More specifically, he's the human in '06 that asks you to "find the real guard captain" while being the captain himself (and if you haven't played that game and for some reason want to, enjoy your free S-rank on that particular mission).
As always, I appreciate reviews and other feedback, and I hope you enjoy the story.